Well that didn't work out

Instead of paying $200 a week for OT, we sign Jimmy up for classes at the local Y. Last time, we signed him up for a sports sampler. Eight weeks of different sports for ages 3-5.
It didn't go so well. First it was Friday from 4:30-5:15. We missed at least two classes becaue Jimmy fell asleep.
Second, he thought the teachers were yelling at him and James says they weren't. He would run off and that would be the end of class for him. So that ended the classes we didn't miss becuase of nap.
And there was one class we totally forgot about, until the next day. Oops.
So, we signed him up for gmynastics. On Wensdays.
I hope it works out this time. We have had him in gymnastics before so this has a better chance.
As long as he doesn't fall asleep.

I'd like to apologize to my readers now. While I'm still awake.

I went back to the neuro for a follow up on why Mildred has NOT gotten the message she's not welcome and needs to find a new home. NOW!
So, Dr Neuro changed my meds. I'm off Treximet and on something else she thinks will cause less fevers, nausea and those not good stoned feelings. She added a maintenance med (happy pills) and told me to cut out ALL caffeine.
WHAT????? NO CAFFEINE??????
Yes, She thinks its causing rebound headaches and we need to get rid of the headache. So no caffeine for me folks.
Also the happy pills? Yeah they cause EXTREME SLEEPINESS. So add the fact I will have no caffeine, I'm not sure I'm going to be functioning at all.
So I apologize to all of you. I am very nervous about the no caffeine thing and I hope its temporary.
I got some decaf coffee to see if my body will be tricked into thinking that its REAL COFFEE!!! YEAH!!!!
Its not this:
I guess I'll be drinking Diet Sprite for the near future. Whoo-hoo.
So if you don't hear from me much, I'm asleep.
You think I can get a doctor's note for why I'm a mess.

Ugh its only Monday and she's only in First Grade

Remember that post I wrote about homework? Ok, the one here and not at the Guilty Parent? (which you should go read, and yes I wrote it. I'll wait....)
Anyhow, we have had our first failure of the system.
Bri had homework due tomorrow. Ten sentences of vocab words. I told her to start it last night, to do five sentences Monday and five Tuesday. She said she would do it tonight. I said ok, but you know the rules.
Tonight, we got home from gymnastics, and then she decided to play around. Guess who remembered she had homework after 8 pm tonight that's due tomorrow?
Yeah, Bri would be the one. We told her to pack it up and put it in her backpack. She could explain it to the teacher. I almost let her lose her TV privileges for a day and do her homework, but this stalling problem has gone on long enough. She started with, the teacher takes no excuses, and I said, well next time you'll get it done on time. I told her we can start that she comes in the house, takes her shoes and jacket off and goes straight to her room and do her homework. Do not pass go, do not have a snack or play on the computer or go pee. She didn't like that option so we told her she needs to get it done next time. We told her, you know you have homework, you need to take care of it. Tomorrow, she will have to do her entire math homework that is not due until Tuesday.
The thing that makes me mad is she can do her homework at After Care and be done with it, but she won't. Ok, so the kid needs a break after school all day, but its getting REALLY old, we're only at first grade and I have another kid to go.
Also, guess who just found out she may be allergic to her migraine meds? Yeah that would be me. I have had the migraine try to come back since Sunday and I gave in and took my meds again today. About half and hour after I took the pill, I was sweating, having trouble breathing, feeling stoned and feeling nauseated. So I re-read all the info included with the meds. This is a lovely condition called Seretonin Syndrome. And basically, I just wasted $45 getting it filled just in case.
So at least I go back to the Neuro tomorrow to have a follow up. It'll be time to change meds and figure out why Mildred will not completely go away.
She is NOT ruining my scrapbook weekend next weekend. No way, no how. And I'm not paying for her to come with.

Coming back to life

I saw the neuro yesterday. This is the same neuro I saw back in 2004 when I was pregnant with Jimmy and the spinal tap failed to close. I described the headache that never ends and I have named her Mildred. I gave her the list of everything we tried. I told her I see spots and "bugs." I told her I was at my wits end. I walked the hall without falling over, I passed the reflex test, I got out of the spinal tap.
I have Status Migranious. Its a migraine that goes on more than 72 hours and will keep going without treatment. So, without professional assistance, the migraine will NEVER LEAVE.
So I have prescription meds. I took the first dose after we got home (thank God for free samples) and laid down. I woke up when James and the kids got home a couple hours later. I still had the damn headache.
So I took the second dose and laid down while waiting for pizza. I felt human again. I wasn't in excrutiating pain. My left eye wasn't feel like it was going to explode out of my head.
Well, the headache is still a trace. Its better than its been. I am back to myself for the most part.
I even tried to discuss Bri's homework and math test with her tonight. Yeah, I may need different meds to deal with her, but that may be a discussion for another post.
If I need more meds, if the headache comes back, yes I will take them.
But right now, I don't.
Better living through chemisty indeed.

I'm going to name her Mildred since she won't leave

I don't even know what day of the migraine we are on anymore. I'm not counting anymore.
I'm still in pretty bad pain and now Excedrin Migraine is not working. Oh and it sucks because you can only take it once a day. Yes, ONCE A DAY. Wish I had read the box before James convinced me to buy the 300 count box at Costco. So, if you took it at 7am and its not even 11 am and it feels like someone is stabbing you in the front of the head with a cleaver and the back of the head with a weed wacker and a chainsaw, you're pretty much out of luck for the next 20 hours. Hang in there and don't attempt to scrapbook, because the paper patterns will make you naueated and your left eye will feel like its pulsating.
And driving is out until we get some answers. I don't feel comfortable with it.
I'm ready to name the migraine because it would be easier to swear and yell at it. I'm losing my mind at this point and I really don't care anymore.
I FINALLY got the MRI results back. After begging and pleading yesterday.
Perfectly normal. Oh the sinuses are slightly swolen and I have to take cortisone steroids. And see a neurologist. No longer will an interist do.
So I got an appt at 1:45 today by stressing that the headache is driving me nuts, nothing gets rid of it fully and its a good thing we don't have a handgun. Just saying. They tried to deny me and appointment because I owe $16 from an appointment 4 years ago. Which I paid back then and if I wasn't so sick I'd find the damn bill that shows it was paid to take in.
I'm trying to pull myself together to go. I think a shower may be a good thing. Its just annoying right now but I feel really off. And nauseated.

Does it ever change?

We are on day 11 of the migraine/severe headache. I have had my MRI, consulted a general doctor and am still in pain.
Seriously, no one seems concerned. A 11 day headache is PERFECTLY NORMAL. Right now, I'm playing "Will Jennifer's dinner stay down?"
Usually I've won, but its not fun getting there.
I've thrown at it Tylenol, Ibuprophen, Naproxen, Vicodin, Alcohol, Alfredo pasta, Taco Bell and I'm not sure what else anymore.
Its not the first time I've lived with chronic pain. When I was 22, I got sick. My right neck lymph node swelled up and hurt for 9 months. Constantly. I had CTs, MRIs, blood work, needle biopsies with no clue. I visited many doctors who each had an idea. But no answers.
I had days where it annoyed me but I could do my normal daily life and other days I was in bed and taking heavy drugs, if the pain didn't keep me up. The thing was, I didn't have a husband, house, kids and job. I worked as a temp the weeks I felt good and stayed in bed the weeks I didn't.
Not saying this is an ideal way to live. But I dealt with it. My mom and dad took care of me.
Finally, I had an open biopsy to get some answers. Basically, they remove your lymph node. Its not fun, but hey, sometimes the pain is so bad, you do what you can to get rid of it. I slept sleeping up for almost a week after the surgery.
I felt better. I was cured, there was nothing wrong with the lymph node except it was swollen. No cancer, no disease. I moved on and got a job, got married, got a house, had kids and here I sit.
Life doesn't end when you are sick. I don't get to say in bed and no one takes care of me. I still have to get up, get a kid to school, get through work, get the kid again, make dinner and help with homework. I may be sick but kids don't care, they still need you.
Tomorrow, I will get up. I will hand out Valentines gifts to my kids. I will pick up Girl Scout cookies and sort orders. I will get groceries and pay bills. I will try not to complain or look in pain. I will smile and try to tell jokes.
I will pray the pain ends. I will pray I make it to my doctors appointment on Wednesday.
Nothing else I can do at this point.

Just when you thought it was safe to file your taxes.....

So, tonight, I finally finished my taxes (even with the migraine now feeling like someone is stabbing me in the back of the head)and was all ready to file them, when James gives me wonderful news that his company needs to reissue all W-2's due to some error with the Medicare withholdings. Hey people, I NEED the money, can we get this cleared up really, really soon?


Speaking of money, the hospital I am having the MRI/MRA at Thursday called today to ask if I will be bringing my deductible with for the scan. They had reviewed my benefits and determined I have a $300 deductible (does the economy suck that badly?). I explained, as calmly as I can with the stabbing pain in my head, that I had been there two weeks ago for the CT scan and I was waiting for the primary and secondary to fight it out and let me know how much I need to pay. The woman from the hospital goes, oh we don't have your secondary insurance on file, we need that information. I tell the clerk, no the secondary will get it automatically from the primary, even thought they deny up and down the primary does not send the claims to the secondary. I then went on to tell her that the secondary insurance sucks so much (and covers so little) that its a waste of time to send all claims to them. The clerk laughed and said ok, we'll bill you when its all settled. Hey, at least someone can laugh about my insurance issues.

Last night, when I had my blood work for the MRI/MRA, they asked for a $25 co-pay. I said to the registration guy that we usually send it to insurance and then I pay once insurance gets done with it. So he let it go, but he was DEAD serious about the co-pay. I seriously think they looked at my credit rating and that is why they are bugging me about money. I will pay you, just may take a couple months longer.


And my last thing: Let me clear up something about only children. I am one. This is how things worked out. There were lonely times when my friends could not come out and play and I had to amuse myself. I had a lot of happy times. I read a lot of books and played video games. My parents were there. At times my parents could not be there and no, I was not spoiled. Many people are shocked to find out I am an only child since I seem so "well adjusted." That all said, I do not want 14 kids. I did not want my child to be an only child, but I figured the maximum was 3, whether at once or one at a time. I am blessed I did not have to do In-vitro/IUI, but if a doc told me they were going to implant 6 embryos, I would have RAN for the nearest EXIT and found a new clinic! Kids are a blessing and a gift from God, but if you can't care for them, they are a burden. I never intended for my kids to fill a void from my childhood. That is not why I had them.

Now if you will excuse me, the migraine and I are going to watch Bizzare Foods.

Mommy FAIL

On Saturday, James and I got the idea to drive to Milwaukee. I hadn't been up there since before Bri was born and I wanted to go up there. I had lived up there for 4 months many years ago and I miss it. So, after Milwaukee and lunch, we stopped at the outlet mall in Kenosha.
We actually stopped to go to the Columbia Outlet to look for jackets (no luck), but there was a Stride Rite outlet, and Jimmy DESPERATLY needed shoes.
He has been wearing a pair of Wall-E shopes since the summer. They are tan and light up and he loves them. They are pretty much the only shoes he will wear. They are falling apart and the soles are coming off. I tried to replace them, he said they hurt. Same shoes, same size, not sure why.
So we went to the outlet store and told Jimmy we were getting him new shoes. He was ok with it. We asked one of the employees if they could measure his feet for size, since I really had no clue.
She measured his feet. Size 12W. His Wall-E shoes were 10M.
OMG, how did I not notice this? I feel like I haven't been paying attention.
So he has new shoes and I really need to pay more attention to what is going on around here.

Sometimes, its just better to leave the kid at home

We are on day 4 of the migraine. I went back yesterday to the ENT. The sinuses are perfectly normal, the infection is cleared. So, on Thursday I get my once every 3 years MRI of my brain. In my ENT's words, "to make sure nothing is going to blow up in your brain." Gee, I feel so much better.
Anyhow, how do I spend my days when my migraine has downgraded to annoying? At the craft store. I wanted to get a tool to make wavy cuts in paper for scrapbooking. The Fiskers one was way cheaper than the Creative Memories one. So, tonight I asked James if I could stop there since the tools are on sale until tonight.
So I went in and its was rather empty, which is a nice thing usually. I was walking over to the scrapbooking section and saw a boy about Jimmy's age sitting in a shopping cart in a center aisle and figured his mom was nearby. I walked into the scrapbooking section and that's when the screaming started.
The boy in the shopping cart began to scream. Not a high pitched scream, but a low gutteral moaning kind of scream. At the top of his lungs. Reminds me of the sounds that Uncle N makes, but 100 times louder.
The store is empty and my head is starting to really burn again, and the screaming continues. And it stops. And it starts again. And it so loud, bouncing around the empty store, it was as if the kid and his mom were next to me, not 4 aisles over. I was looking at the tools and trying to figure out what I need to make my pages and the screaming kept distracting me and making my head pound. I never heard his mom say hush or shush or be quiet. I never heard the kid talk, all he did was make low screaming and other babbling noises. Nothing that I'd call words.
I ended up leaving after a few minutes. I couldn't take it anymore and was afraid I may say something to the mom.
I don't know if the kid was disabled or not, but it was so inappropriate. I correct my kids so much because I don't have patience. My son starts making noise in a store and the choice is, quiet down or we go home. They have to learn how to behave in public and I don't cut slack in this area with my son. I don't know if this boy could not understand that or the mom was so deperate to get out of the house, she figured the store would be empty and who cares if he makes noise. Maybe she doesn't care. I don't know.
To me, it would have been unacceptable behavior. I'll go back when its crowded.

So, what do you do when Vicodin doesn't work?

I've had a migraine all day. Yes, I have migraines and usually I call into dead to work, take anything I can get my hands on in the house, hide under my covers and watch baby shows all day. Since many of my co-workers are sick, on vacation or just not showing up for work, I went in. Guilt for reasons I don't understand.
I don't think I get normal migraines. I get sinus migraines. So imagine stabbing pain in your face and neck (where the sinuses run) and wanting to vomit, mixed with having trouble focusing on the computer screen and seeing bugs (oh yeah I get occular migraines at the same time. Or the plant service is slacking again).
So, all day arguing with people while trying to squash the feeling of I'm-going-to-vomit-all-over-the-next-person-who-shows-up-at-my-desk. I survived the day, came home and ate dinner. I took a Vicodin I had and laid down for about three hours.
I feel NO BETTER. I feel awful. I go back on Friday for the results of the CT scan. Seriously, Vicodin did NOTHING? Oh boy, this is going to be interesting to see what is going on in my sinuses.
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The family I wrote about in the last post has accepted the Ebay auction and donations given to them. I hope they are able to rebuild their lives and move forward.
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Now there is a family who is selling their credit card debt on Ebay. You can buy it in $10 increments and the family will send you a thank you note. Why didn't I think of this? Could have solved so many problems for us. I'd even handmake the thank you cards.
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Lastly, I asked James to give me a Slice Design card for my Slice Diecutting machine instead of flowers for Valentines Day. Its going to cost as much as flowers since they mark up all the prices for the holidays and my favorite flower shop went out of business. I do want flowers if I have surgery. And Queso Burritos from Qdoba.